Old Machar Towers, No.2
1911
Medium
etching and drypoint
Dimensions
sheet: 19.8 × 26.7 cm (7 13/16 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5884
Art Historical Context
James McBey’sOld Machar Towers, No.2” from 1911 offers a quiet view of the historic towers of Old Machar Cathedral in Aberdeen, Scotland. Created as an etching and drypoint, the print demonstrates McBey’s command of intaglio techniques, in which sharp lines are incised into a metal plate and the drypoint burr adds soft, velvety tones. This combination allows for both precise architectural detail and atmospheric depth within a modest sheet size of 19.8 × 26.7 cm. Etching and drypoint were popular among early-twentieth-century printmakers for their ability to produce rich textures and subtle gr...
About the Artist
James McBey
James McBey (1883–1959) was a Scottish artist renowned for his etchings and paintings, emerging from humble beginnings in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, as the illegitimate son of a blacksmith's daughter. Largely self-taught, he left school at fifteen to work as a bank clerk in Aberdeen, where he devoured art books from the public library and attended evening classes at Gray's School of Art to hone his ...